Ben Ayers

Ben lives in Nepal as the Nepal Country Director for the dZi Foundation. He splits his time between the twisted streets of Kathmandu and remote backcountry trails. His work is pioneering a new approach to community-driven change that addresses the causes of poverty from the roots up.

Photos

Bio

Ben started his career in Nepal carrying massive loads alongside the famed mountain porters of the Himalayas. In 1999 he founded Porters' Progress, an NGO that under his direction went on to transform working conditions and reduce fatalities among porters carrying loads for foreign trekking and climbing expeditions.

As the Nepal Country Director of the dZi Foundation, he has carried forward this work into grassroots development, partnering with portering communities as they adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Driven by their own motivation, resourcefulness, and desire to improve their lives, these communities have built dozens of new schools, constructed thousands of toilets, and laid miles of drinking water pipes with the support of the dZi Foundation. More importantly, though, they have actualized the belief that they are the only ones who can eliminate poverty and create long-lasting, sustainable change.